Students prove business savvy in state competition victory

The students from Toolooa State High School and Trinity College were awarded at Queensland Parliament House.

BE SMART: Minister for Justice Yvette D'Ath with Buy Smart Competition award recipients Drishti (Toolooa State High School), Sebastian Hurcum and Zion Cordero (Trinity College). Picture: Waddington Photography

FOUR Gladstone students have been awarded in the Office of Fair Trading's statewide Buy Smart Competition.

The awards were given during a Queensland Parliament House ceremony on November 1 to students who researched and creatively presented a consumer topic.

In the Year 7-9 category, Toolooa State High School student Drishti won a highly commended prize for her work on a mock-up mobile application answering questions about budgeting, shopping and scam awareness.

Third prize in the same category was awarded to Trinity College Gladstone students Zion Cordero, Sebastian Hurcum and Mack Geiger for a music video in which their class sang about shopping and scam awareness.

Secondary business teacher Yolande van Eeden said the school was honoured to receive the award in its second year of competition.

"It is such a great privilege to be invited to Parliament House and for the students to receive the exposure outside school," Ms van Eeden said.

"The most remarkable part of the boys' entry was their attention-grabbing scam song.

"While Sebastian and Zion were busy writing and practising their scam-awareness song, other groups joined in the fun, adding beat and singing along ... Mack composed the music in a few minutes."

Member for Gladstone Glenn Butcher said he was proud of the innovativeness, creativity and critical thinking fostered by Gladstone schools.

"It's great to see young Queenslanders taking an interest in the important issues of managing their money and enforcing their consumer rights," Mr Butcher said.

"(They will) be putting the things they learnt to practice in the next couple of years, such as buying their first car."